Alphonse Lemerre (

Canisy Canisy () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, the former commune of Saint-Ébremond-de-Bonfossé was merged into Canisy.Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 1838 –

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, 1912) was a 19th-century French editor and publisher, known especially for having been the first to publish many of the Parnassian poets.

Life

Alphonse Lemerre was the eighth child of his parents. In 1850, at age 12, he was an errand-boy in

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.

. In 1860, he moved to Paris and quickly rose to prominence, becoming the "Prince de l'édition" (Prince of Publishing) and made his publisher's mark famous, which had the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

''Fac et spera'' ("''Agis et espère''" in French, "Do and Hope" in English). He opened a library at 23 passage Choiseul. His library occupied also other odd number addresses (23-33, 47). In 1865, he began to edit Parnassian poets in

Louis-Xavier de Ricard Louis-Xavier de Ricard (January 25, 1843July 2, 1911) was a French poet, author and journalist of the 19th century. He was founder and editor of '' La Revue du progrès'' (''La Revue du Progrès moral, littéraire, scientifique et artistique'') w ...

's revue ''L'Art'', which had ten issues between November 2, 1865, and January 6, 1866. The November issue had an article by

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' in international and ...

about

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

. In 1866, Lemerre published ''

Le Parnasse contemporain Le Parnasse contemporain ("The Contemporary Parnassus", e.g., the contemporary poetry scene) is composed of three volumes of poetry collections, published in 1866, 1871 and 1876 by the editor Alphonse Lemerre, which included a hundred French poets ...

'', a collection of new poetry, in 18 weekly installments from 30 March to 30 June 1866, the collected installments published in October. Two other volumes of ''Le Paranasse Contemporain'' appeared in 1871 and 1876. He went on to publish numerous collections. Lemerre's publications include many of the ''chefs-d'œuvre'' of 19th century French literature and history:

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

, Auguste Molinier,

Louis Petit de Julleville Louis Petit de Julleville (18 July 1841 – 28 August 1900) was a French scholar. Life Born in Paris, Petit de Julleville was educated at the École Normale Supérieure and the French School at Athens. He received his doctorate in literature in 186 ...

; la Petite Bibliothèque littéraire, la Bibliothèque des curieux, la Bibliothèque illustrée, la Bibliothèque dramatique, la Petite collection pour la jeunesse, les poèmes nationaux, des livres d'enseignement and other collections. He was a mayor of

Ville d'Avray Ville-d'Avray () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune is part of the arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt in the Hauts-de-Seine department. In 2019, it had a population of ...

, a Republicain in politics, anticlerical. He was very attached to his native Normandy. He went there often (to Canisy, to the Château de Montmirel and to Coutainville) and had several properties there (

Dangy Dangy () is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France. See also *Communes of the Manche department The following is a list of the 446 Communes of France, communes of the Manche Departments of France, department of France. The ...

, Dais, Méterville). In 1965, the inheritors of his estate closed the Lemerre publishing house.

Selection of authors edited by Alphonse Lemerre

Alphonse Lemerre is especially known for having published Parnassian poets. But he also published Classical and Romantic authors and anthologies. *

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier, ...

Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle (; 22 October 1818 – 17 July 1894) was a French poet of the Parnassian movement. He is traditionally known by his surname only, Leconte de Lisle''. Biography Leconte de Lisle was born on the French overseas ...

François Coppée François Edouard Joachim Coppée (26 January 1842 – 23 May 1908) was a French poet and novelist. Biography Coppée was born in Paris to a civil servant. After attending the Lycée Saint-Louis he became a clerk in the ministry of war and won ...

Léon Dierx Léon Dierx (; March 31, 1838 – June 11, 1912) was a French poet born in Saint-Denis in 1838. He came to Paris to study at the Central School of Arts and Manufactures and subsequently settled there, taking up a post in the education office. He ...

José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna ...

Jean Lahor Henri Cazalis (; 9 March 1840, Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val-d'Oise – 1 July 1909, Geneva) was a French physician who was a symbolist poet and man of letters and wrote under the pseudonyms of Jean Caselli and Jean Lahor. His works include: *''Cha ...

Victor de Laprade Pierre Martin Victor Richard de Laprade (13 January 181213 December 1883), known as Victor de Laprade, was a French poet and critic. Biography He was born at Montbrison, Loire, of a modest provincial family. After completing his studies at Lyon, ...

* Catulle Mendès *

Sully Prudhomme René François Armand "Sully" Prudhomme (; 16 March 1839 – 6 September 1907) was a French poet and essayist. He was the first winner of the 1901 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1901. Born in Paris, Prudhomme originall ...

* Alfred de Musset *

Renée Vivien Renée Vivien (born Pauline Mary Tarn; 11 June 1877 – 18 November 1909) was a British poet who wrote in French, in the style of the Symbolistes and the Parnassiens. A high-profile lesbian in the Paris of the Belle Époque, she is notable for he ...

Collections: *

, recueil de vers nouveaux. I- 1866, II- 1869-1871, III- 1876 Anthologies: *Anthologie des poètes français depuis les origines jusqu'à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. *Anthologie des poètes français, XIXe siècle. *Sonnets et eaux fortes, 1869, premier livre de peintres paru en France grâce au critique d'art Philippe Burty. *Le Livre des Sonnets. *Le Livre des Ballades.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemerre, Alphonse French editors French publishers (people) 1838 births 1912 deaths French male non-fiction writers